As Edie and I began our two-night camping trip to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz in early June, we had no idea that this trip would end not with a final third night at New Brighton State Beach in Capitola as we had planned, but rather with a frantic drive to the emergency department of Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.
[1]An out-of-sequence trip
Having just enjoyed a camping trip to Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa [2] in mid-May, we normally wouldn’t have been going out camping again just two-weeks later—a month is more our normal interval. But Edie was invited by a couple of musician friends to join a group of their friends camping in the Santa Cruz mountains in early June, so we decided to go for it.
[3]Music among the redwoods
There were a total of nine of us on this trip, six women and three men, although the boyfriend of one of the women stopped by for one night, bringing the ratio up to 6/4 for the night. Everyone was so nice and friendly, and we all had a fun and relaxed time talking, eating, hiking, and playing music under the stars and majestic redwoods of Henry Cowell Park.
I had never been on a music-focused camping trip before, and it was fun to hike during the day, and then sit around the campfire at night as guitars, ukuleles, flutes, various shakers, and songbooks were pulled out. You don’t have to be a good singer or player to join in—just do what you can.
[4]Henry Cowell Redwoods
Just 68 miles and about 1.5 hours south of Alameda, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park feels like it’s a world away. The park’s official website [5] describes it as: “Conveniently located in the Santa Cruz Mountains town of Felton, this park is most famous for its 40-acre grove of towering old-growth redwood trees, whose historical significance and spectacular scenery draw travelers from around the world. In the upper elevations of the park, you can experience the Santa Cruz sand hills habitat, a rare ecosystem that is home to numerous endemic species.”
[6]Things to do
Visitors to Henry Cowell Park, which was named after industrialist Henry Cowell (1819–1903), who first purchased this land in 1865, have much to choose from. After stopping in at the Visitor Center, you can take the flat, 0.8-mile redwood loop trail, ride your bike on one of the designated bike trails, take in one of the many interpretive programs offered throughout the year, take a dip in the San Lorenzo River, camp in one of the park’s 107 campsites, or take a longer hike on one of the park’s numerous hiking trails, which range from easy to strenuous. Also adjacent to the park is the Roaring Camp Railroad, an authentic, vintage 1880s steam train that takes visitors on excursions though the redwoods up to the summit of Bear Mountain.
A daylong trek
Our group was a pretty fit and active one, so we ended up taking a longer, full-day hike which ended up being a total of 9.5 miles and 1,355 feet of elevation gain over the course of almost seven hours. This included a lunch break and plenty of stops for photos, snacks, and observing nature. The trail started at the campground on the Pine Trail, included a stop at the Observation Deck, a continuation down the steep hillsides to Cable Car Beach, a walk along the railroad tracks, a route down to the San Lorenzo River where we had lunch on a sandy beach, then the long walk back up the hills through numerous redwood groves and sand hills environments before arriving back at camp late in the day. At that point, everyone was ready for hot showers, followed by dinner.
A fateful morning
By Wednesday morning, June 3, our group of happy campers was gathered around the campfire for coffee and final conversations. Most of the group was headed off on another hike, and Edie and I were planning a day in Santa Cruz and then a final night camping in Capitola. Little did we know at that moment that our day in Santa Cruz and night in Capitola would not be happening, at least not this year.
[7]No, please
After taking a group photo, and as hugs and goodbyes were happening all around, suddenly one of the women in the group came up to Edie and me with a ten-dollar bill, offering it as a thoughtful contribution for the gas fire ring we had provided over the past couple of days and nights. For us it was just a contribution we’d made with no expectation of payment, so Edie immediately said “oh no, please, it was our pleasure”, and waved the money away. As this generous and nice woman insisted, Edie said “no” again, this time more emphatically, and as she did so, she suddenly turned to walk quickly away, while weighed down by two folded camping chairs slung over her shoulders.
Life changes in an instant
Things happened very quickly in the moments that followed. Next thing I knew, Edie and the chairs were crashing to the ground, careening over the large rock (approximately two feet tall) that was just behind us, unseen as Edie turned around to walk quickly away. My first thought was, “OK, let’s pick her up and get her dusted off,” but when I heard the stream of profanities issuing from her mouth, and saw her holding her wrist up, the blood drained from my face and I realized something was wrong, very wrong.
I won’t post a picture of it here, since it was too gruesome to show, but it was obvious she had badly broken her left wrist, and that we were now in an emergency situation. Her hand was completely out of alignment with her wrist, and was dislocated from where it should be. Edie was obviously in great pain, and probably in a degree of shock from what had just happened.
Springing into action
Since most of the group was already assembled all in one place, we were able to immediately begin a plan of action. One of our group was an ER nurse, so I left her and the rest of the group in charge of tending to Edie while I walked the three minutes back to our own campsite to hastily pack up the site and van, and drive back to the main site to pick up Edie for transport to medical care.
By the time I got back, around 10 minutes later, they had already given Edie pain relievers, applied an ice pack, had her arm resting on a pillow, and had the names and locations of the nearest urgent care and hospital facilities ready for me. After loading Edie into the van and saying a quick goodbye to everyone, we were off. This was not the closing ceremony to a great camping trip that we expected, but it was the one we got.
[8]Close to civilization
Although this was a terrible end to a camping trip, there were a couple of saving graces to be thankful for. First, it happened right in a campsite near our vehicle, not miles into a long, backcountry hike. And second, we weren’t in a remote wilderness region of the state—we were in the mountains just six miles from a major hospital in Santa Cruz.
I should also add a third to this list, which is that we were camping with a group of caring, responsible people, including an ER nurse, to help with the initial triage and first aid while I ran off to pack up our camp.
Heading for help
Saving graces aside, Edie was in great pain and we were feeling anxious and stressed. Our first stop was the urgent care center that our group had found for us. In retrospect, that was a mistake, since Edie’s wrist breaks were far too serious and complex for an urgent care center. The doctor there saw us right away though, and said we needed to proceed immediately to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, just a few more minutes away.
By the time we walked into the ER at the hospital, with Edie’s bag of ice dripping all over the floor, and her pain level increasing, we were getting anxious about being treated soon. But as anyone who has visited an ER knows, there is always someone with an emergency worse than yours, and just seeing someone holding a painful wrist doesn’t quite get the same attention as someone having chest pains or losing consciousness.
So we waited. When we were finally seen by an intake nurse and he looked closely at Edie’s dislocated wrist for the first time, his eyes opened wider and he said, “Oh, we need to get you in a room!”
Incredible professionals
From that point on, everything moved along pretty steadily. We still ended up spending at least three hours at the hospital, but once we were in a room, the incredibly dedicated and compassionate people who work in healthcare took over. A nurse came in and immediately started an IV drip of strong pain relievers.
Then Dr. Jessica Paulson, complete with an injured ankle or leg, wheeled herself in on a knee scooter and began assessing the situation, ordering x-rays, and taking charge. An X-ray technician rolled a large portable x-ray machine into the room and began taking images, which Dr. Paulson soon analyzed and diagnosed as a fracture of the distal radius and ulna. In other words, both of Edie’s left wrist bones were completely broken and displaced from where they should be.
[9]Edward Scissorhands
The next step was to try to get the hand back in line with the wrist again, so a splint could be applied and Edie could be stabilized for the trip home, and for later surgery. This involved injections of more strong pain relievers directly into the wrist, and then hanging her hand suspended in fabric finger traps, a look reminiscent of movie character Edward Scissorhands.
With the hand suspended from the finger traps, and a weight hanging from her elbow, a period of 20 minutes did the trick of slowly causing the hand to go back in line with the wrist again. Needless to say, this would have been incredibly painful without the multiple IV and injected pain relievers. In fact, the pain relievers were so strong that a side effect was nausea and vomiting at the hospital and on the way home. Still, that was probably better than feeling the pain.
Released
Hours after arriving, and with Edie’s left arm now in a splint and sling, we finally were discharged from the hospital and ready to head home, with prescriptions for Hydrocodone and strong 800mg Ibuprofen waiting for us at Walgreens. Her bones were still broken, and now we had to find a hand and wrist surgeon, but at least we were on our way home.
Most of the drive home was spent trying to find another urgent care center or hospital though, to take another look at the splint and reset it, since she was feeling so much pain and tightness in it.
Soon after getting home and parking the van, we got in the car and headed to the Alameda Hospital ER, where we spent another couple of hours before finally being seen by a doctor who rewrapped Edie’s wrist and arm, and made her a little more comfortable.
The long road ahead
From there began the long road of finding a good hand and wrist surgeon, getting a surgery date, doing all the pre-op tests, getting the three-hour surgery, and starting the process of healing and eventually, PT and OT to regain function in the hand again. Edie’s cast ended up being on for seven weeks, followed by a brace for at least another month.
This has been a period of much discomfort and disability. Sleeping has been difficult, and there are only so many tasks you can do with only one working hand. Going back to work and playing guitar again are future goals.
I became Edie’s primary caregiver during these past months, and an added stress was that I was committed to being in New York for a couple of weeks in late July/early August to sell the family home, help my father get ready to move to North Carolina, sell his car, and close down his assisted-living apartment. It was difficult to leave Edie disabled and still in a cast, but there was no one else in my family in a position to take on these tasks and I needed to step up.
I left Edie as prepared as possible for my time away, and in the end everything went well. I got all of my tasks done in New York, a good friend took Edie to her doctor appointments, and the two homemade quiches I left for her in the fridge provided quite a few dinners.
[10]Move with intention
What lessons can be learned from all of this? For one thing, life can change in an instant. One false step and all of the assumptions you’ve made about your health and independence can change just like that. One piece of advice that keeps coming up is, “move with intention.”
It may be that as a young person you can bounce back from most falls, and generally feel indestructible. That’s not always true even when young, but the consequences can become worse as you get older, bones get more brittle, and injuries take longer to heal.
Of course, some accidents just happen, and there’s nothing you can do to prevent them. Still, it’s a good habit to move with intention, and take a beat to think and look around before you make a move. Also, if someone offers you ten dollars, maybe just take it.
For more information about Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, see the park’s official website [5].
Contributing writer Steve Gorman has been a resident of Alameda since 2000, when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique town. Contact him via [email protected] [11]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman [12].